Keeping up!

[FJRider]

Most of the advice here is pretty darn good. This thread hasn't devolved into a slanging match and civility has prevailed.

There's still time ...

[TheTengTheory]

[Mushu]

When you're on a bike you're faced with thousands of decisions that need to be made instinctively, any one of those decisions could kill you if you get it wrong. Drawing a line about what speed is comfortable is one of the simplest of all these decisions.

If you can't draw that line for yourself then you should sell your bike, or keep riding until your luck runs out (the motorcycle, one of the few remaining places dangerous and accessible enough to see Darwinism at work)

I have ridden on a couple of kb rides, got more bad advice than good and had to deal with a few heroes which at that stage made me quite nervous. So I wouldn't go on another and all the group riding I do is with family and friends so no one gets left behind and the less experienced riders go in the middle of the group and I usually take up position as TEC. I enjoy the group rides because I can sit at the back and just cruise without worrying about my speed (which tends to creep up to licence threatening levels quickly when I'm riding solo)

Sent from my XT535 using Tapatalk 2

[Laava]

Just go faster. Stay out in front, and no one can whine that you're trying to keep up.

I agree with Drew about this, you do not want to suck the fun from the quicker riders. I do a lot of group rides with the far north ulysses and we tell people to ride their own ride.. Nobody is riding deliberately slower than they want, we have a TEC and we always stop and have a regroup. Also if we are on backroads or have visitors we use the cornerman system. We don,t have complaints as far as I know!
On the TNR we basically stop on every major turn and wait for the TEC to turn up. This can obviously depend on who is riding and how many.

[Zedder]

[QUOTE=Kickaha;1130512552]

I dunno, coming a round a corner to find a van filling your lane and knowing you'll be the one crashing would be right up there


True, but in the context of riding with mates it's a different situation. Having other people crash when I've been riding with them is not very pleasant.

[Big Dave]

If you don't like the way I ride - stay off the footpath.

[Bass]

Way back at post #41, Drew surprised me by putting up something that I agree with. I hope he'll forgive me if I paraphrase him a little.
Young men and fast machines have always been a bad mix. It's almost programmed into the species that young men are competitive, push the boundaries and are not interested in learning from others mistakes - hell, some of them aren't interested in learning from their own mistakes.
I may have it wrong, but Drew appeared to imply that this cannot be changed. I disagree - it can be changed but it's not easy and I have to admit that there may be a few out there that are beyond help.

I am very much the born again biker. I don't know if the anecdotes regarding this breed are true but in my own case I knew from the outset that my skill level was minimal. I started with a RF 900 and it was 2 months of pottering around before I let the wife on the back.
I set about improving my skills and there were some things I learned along the way that are relevant here: -

1. Good judgement comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement.

2. When the guy on the R1 goes around you on the outside of a corner in the twisties, it pays to remember that you are having just as much fun as he is.

3. No matter how many courses and track days I attend, I will NEVER have the skills of people like Drew and his ilk. (See #2 above)

4. Lastly, some time ago, I paid my money and (amongst lots of other stuff) did the Riderskills advanced course. Now while it is largely a roadcraft course and so mostly about staying alive on public roads, I WAS asked what I wanted to learn that day. I responded that I usually found that no matter how hard I tried, I found myself mid corner realising that I could have safely been going quite a bit quicker. Consequently, I wanted to improve my corner approach speed judgement.
In response to this I was given the following exercise, "there are no cops around here - I want you go as fast as you can but don't look at your speedo and don't use your brakes". A nicely twisty piece of road ensued. It was hugely valuable and still is. Obviously it's all about preparation and smoothness but it does several things: -

a. It makes me hard to follow I am told, because there are no brake light signals.
b. It tends to remove all vestiges of chicken strips from the back tyre.
c. Most importantly from my point of view, It makes the ride very comfortable for my wife who is almost always on the back (and who never even notices the chicken strip thing).
d. It probably did nothing for my corner approach speed and I still ride way within the bikes capabilities, but I just don't care any more

[george formby]

a. It makes me hard to follow I am told, because there are no brake light signals.

Heh. That's why I like me twin. Rolling off is like chucking an anchor off the back.
I'm hard to follow too but that is due to a dense oil mist in my wake.

[sugilite:Me]

If people find you hard to follow because your style does not require braking, they are to close. End of story.

[Subike]

I lead to group rides here in CHCH,
On the first ride, 8 bikes There was a learner, I set a paceon the open road, slowing down in places to allow a nicely spaced out group with no one being too close, or too far apart.
everybody enjoyed the ride and commented it was one of the better rides they had been on.
The next ride 2 weeks later I did almost the same, a different destination, but again with learners.
I had three people on large capacity bikes complain that i was going too slow when we got to the destination.
I suggested that they rode home separate to the others as the pace I had set was good for the learners in the group. Problem solved.

Communication.
Being humble and polite with your approach to situations usually is better than being loud and bossy.
Strange that, people tent to listen better, and take on board your ideas.

[Bass]

If people find you hard to follow because your style does not require braking, they are to close. End of story.

There's wisdom in that, no doubt, but it's not the end of the story. I find that I can get a certain amount of useful information about the road ahead from what the guy in front is doing without ever getting him inside my braking distance. If he's not using his brakes however, I do have to be more careful to stay far enough back, it's true

[sugilite:Me]

There's wisdom in that, no doubt, but it's not the end of the story. I find that I can get a certain amount of useful information about the road ahead from what the guy in front is doing without ever getting him inside my braking distance. If he's not using his brakes however, I do have to be more careful to stay far enough back, it's true

While I see what your saying, I never rely on the person in front for road information lest I find myself in the same part of the ditch as them. (I do realize your not saying you solely rely on their info)

[FJRider]

If people find you hard to follow because your style does not require braking, they are to close. End of story.

And be sure to tell them that ...

[Katman]

While I see what your saying, I never rely on the person in front for road information lest I find myself in the same part of the ditch as them. (I do realize your not saying you solely rely on their info)

Being aware of the 'body language' of the rider in front of you can give advance warning of a hazard around the corner.

Sure, no-one should rely solely on that info, but to "never" make use of it is disregarding a very useful tool.

[sugilite:Me]

Being aware of the 'body language' of the rider in front of you can give advance warning of a hazard around the corner.

Sure, no-one should rely solely on that info, but to "never" make use of it is disregarding a very useful tool.

Yep, good point. Just to clarify, I said "never rely", not "never make use of".